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Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine sued by Monster CEO Noel Lee over Beats headphones

Clyde K. Valle
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Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine sued by Monster CEO Noel Lee over Beats headphones

Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine are being sued by Noel Lee, a former business partner who co-designed their Beats headphone range.

Noel Lee, whose firm Monster helped launch Beats by Dr Dre in 2008, says his company was betrayed and its technology “pirated”.

He alleges he “lost millions” after Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine “improperly took control” of Beats through a “sham” transaction.

After severing ties with Monster, Beats was purchased by Apple for $3 billion.

In legal papers filed in California, Noel Lee alleges rap producer Dr Dre was barely involved in creating the headphones that carried his name.

The range quickly became a highly desirable brand with celebrities and music fans, and Dr Dre’s endorsement was key to its success.Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine sued by Monster CEO

When the company was sold to mobile phone manufacturer HTC in 2012, Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine made $100 million each, Forbes estimated.

However, Noel Lee claims the deal forced him to cut his share in the company from 5% to 1.25%. He says he then had no other option but to sell his remaining stake for $5.5 million near the end of 2013.

His legal case describes the HTC deal as “fraudulent” and “a sham” intended to shift ownership of Beats to Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine.

HTC later sold its shares back to the Beats.

Noel Lee says if he’d still had his 1.25% stake, he would have received more than $30 million in the Apple deal.

His original 5% stake would have been worth around $150 million.

A statement from Monster’s law firm Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy says that Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine “made millions off the work of Monster and Lee, while the plaintiffs lost millions”.

There’s been no response yet from Dr Dre’s lawyer – or from Beats.

It’s the second lawsuit against the company since Apple bought it last year.

The first was brought by the Bose Corporation over patented technology for cancelling noise in earphones.

That case was settled under undisclosed terms in October.

Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine are also being sued by David Hyman, who sold his music streaming service MOG to Beats in 2012.

That court case, filed shortly before the Apple deal was sealed, is taking place now in Los Angeles.

The Interview to be released in UK and Ireland

Sonia Pantiss
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The Interview to be released in UK and Ireland

The Interview will have “a wide release” in the UK and Ireland, Sony Pictures has confirmed.

The controversial North Korea comedy, which presents a fictional plot to kill Kim Jong-un, will be shown, in theaters only, from February 6.

Sony Pictures had withdrawn The Interview in the wake of a damaging studio cyber-attack, only to then release it in selected cinemas and make it available online in the US.

The film has now made more than $31 million from its digital distribution.

Its limited theatrical release, meanwhile, has netted its makers around $5 million.The Interview to be released in the UK and Ireland

Co-written and co-directed by its star Seth Rogen, The Interview was described last year as a “blatant act of terrorism” by North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency.

Its scheduled release is thought to have motivated the orchestrated attack that saw films, confidential emails and Sony staff’s salary details being leaked online.

Sony faced widespread criticism for initially cancelling the film’s theatrical release, a decision that President Barack Obama called a “mistake”.

The US has placed sanctions on three North Korean organizations and ten individuals after the FBI blamed Pyongyang for the cyber-attack.

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Charlie Hebdo attack UPDATE: 12 killed and 7 injured, gunmen escape by car

Roy Siemens
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Charlie Hebdo attack UPDATE: 12 killed and 7 injured, gunmen escape by car

According to French officials, 12 people have been killed and seven others injured after gunmen attacked the Paris office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

At least two masked gunmen opened fire with assault rifles in the office and exchanged shots with police in the street outside before escaping by car.

President Francois Hollande said there was no doubt it had been a terrorist attack “of exceptional barbarity”.

A major police operation is under way in the Paris area to catch the killers.

The latest post on Charlie Hebdo‘s Twitter account was a cartoon of the Islamic State militant group leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The satirical weekly has courted controversy in the past with its irreverent take on news and current affairs.Charlie Hebdo attack 2015

The magazine was fire-bombed in November 2011 a day after it carried a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.

People had been “murdered in a cowardly manner”, Francois Hollande told reporters at the scene.

“We are threatened because we are a country of liberty,” he added, appealing for national unity.

Two of those killed are police officers, AFP reports, and several of the wounded are in a critical condition.

An eyewitness, Benoit Bringer, told French TV channel Itele: “Two black-hooded men entered the building with Kalashnikovs.

“A few minutes later we heard lots of shots.”

The men were then seen fleeing the building.

Police have warned French media to be on alert and pay attention to security following the attack.

France was already on the alert for Islamist attacks after several incidents just before Christmas.

Cars were driven at shoppers in two cities, Dijon and Nantes, and police were attacked by a man wielding a knife in Tours.

While the French government denied the attacks were linked, it announced plans to further raise security in public spaces, including the deployment of around 300 soldiers.

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Charlie Hebdo attack: At least 11 people killed by two gunmen at Paris office of satirical magazine

Roy Siemens
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Charlie Hebdo attack: At least 11 people killed by two gunmen at Paris office of satirical magazine

At least 11 people have been killed after two gunmen attacked the Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, French media report.

Witnesses spoke of sustained gunfire at the office as the attackers opened fire with Kalashnikov assault rifles.Charlie Hebdo attack January 2015 According to some reports, two of the victims were police officers.

Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly, has courted controversy in the past with its depiction of news and current affairs.

The magazine’s latest tweet was a cartoon of the Islamic State militant group leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Charlie Hebdo was fire-bombed in November 2011 a day after it carried a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.

Kan Bonfils dies during theater rehearsal at 42

Sonia Pantiss
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Kan Bonfils dies during theater rehearsal at 42

Actor Kan Bonfils, who appeared in James Bond films and as a Jedi master in the Star Wars franchise, has collapsed and died during a theater rehearsal.

Kan Bonfils, 42, was rehearsing for Dante’s Inferno, which was due to open at The Rag Factory in London this week.

Members of the production’s Craft Theatre company and paramedics were unable to resuscitate Kan Bonfils.Kan Bonfils dead at 42

The cause of death is not known.

Dante’s Inferno is expected to continue with another actor from the theater company replacing Kan Bonfils.

Kan Bonfils played a “henchman” in 2012’s Skyfall with Daniel Craig and Isagura in 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies with Pierce Brosnan. He also appeared as Jedi master Saesee Tiin in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), opposite Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor.

Flight QZ8501: Tail of AirAsia crashed plane found in Java Sea

Diane A. Wade
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Flight QZ8501: Tail of AirAsia crashed plane found in Java Sea

Indonesia’s search and rescue teams have found the tail of crashed AirAsia flight QZ8501 in the Java Sea, the head of the rescue agency has announced.

The tail houses the “black boxes” – the voice and flight data recorders – which could give investigators clues as to the cause of the crash.

AirAsia flight QZ8501 was en route from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore on December 28 with 162 people on board when it disappeared from radar.

“We have found the tail that has been our main target today,” Bambang Soelistyo told reporters in the capital, Jakarta.

It was spotted by teams involving divers and unmanned underwater vehicles, he said. It is the first significant piece of wreckage from the crash to be identified.

Only 40 bodies have been recovered so far but the authorities believe many of the passengers may still be strapped inside the main body of the plane.

AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes tweeted: “We need to find all parts soon so we can find all our guests to ease the pain of our families. That still is our priority.”AirAsia flight QZ8501 search

On January 6 the search area was expanded as search officials suspected that strong underwater currents could be pushing the debris away from the last point of contact with the plane.

A huge international operation with aerial searches and more than 30 ships involved has been repeatedly hampered by poor weather. Some wreckage, including seats and a door, was found floating on the sea.

At the weekend search officials said sonar had detected what they thought were five large parts of the plane but strong currents and rough seas would not allow divers to confirm they were from the AirAsia flight.

The cause of the crash is not known but the plane was flying through stormy weather at the time and had requested permission to change course.

Indonesian aviation officials have said that AirAsia did not have permission to fly the Surabaya-Singapore route on the day of the crash.

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Shell settles Niger Delta oil spill claims for $84 million

James J. Williams
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Shell settles Niger Delta oil spill claims for $84 million

Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to an $84 million settlement with residents of the Bodo community in the Niger Delta for two oil spills.

Lawyers for 15,600 Nigerian fishermen say their clients will receive $3,300 each for losses caused by the spills.

The remaining $30 million will be left for the community, which law firm Leigh Day says was “devastated by the two massive oil spills in 2008 and 2009”.

They say they affected thousands of hectares of mangrove in south Nigeria.

The settlement was announced by Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary SPDC.

“From the outset, we’ve accepted responsibility for the two deeply regrettable operational spills in Bodo,” its managing director Mutiu Sunmonu said. Shell says that both spills were caused by operational failure of the pipelines.

However, Shell maintains that the extent of environmental pollution in the area is caused by “the scourge of oil theft and illegal refining”.

It also suggested that earlier settlement efforts had been hampered “by divisions within the community”.

The law firm representing the Nigerian fishermen and their community, Leigh Day, described it as one of the largest payouts to an entire community after devastating environmental damage.

“It is the first time that compensation has been paid following an oil spill in Nigeria to the thousands of individuals who have suffered loss,” the firm said in a press release confirming the development.Shell oil spill in Niger Delta

The deal, which ends a three-year legal battle, is the first of its kind in Nigeria, it added.

Leigh Day also said that Shell had pledged to clean up the Bodo Creek over the next few months.

Lawyer Martyn Day, who represents the claimants, said it was “deeply disappointing that Shell took six years to take this case seriously and to recognize the true extent of the damage these spills caused to the environment and to those who rely on it for their livelihood”.

An Amnesty International report into the effects of the oil spills in Bodo, a town in the Ogoniland region, said that the spills had caused headaches and eyesight problems.

The price of fish, a local staple food, rose as much as tenfold and many fishermen had to find alternative ways to make a living, the report added. A separate UN study said local drinking water sources were also contaminated.

The two spills came from the same pipe on the Trans Niger Pipeline, operated by Shell, which takes oil from its fields to the export terminal at Bonny on the coast. It carries about 180,000 barrels of oil per day.

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Brincidofovir: Ebola drug trial starts at MSF center in Liberia

Kathryn R. Bown
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Brincidofovir: Ebola drug trial starts at MSF center in Liberia

A trial of brincidofovir – a potential drug to treat Ebola – has started at a Medecins Sans Frontieres center in Liberia.

The antiviral is being tested on Ebola patients on a voluntary basis. People who do not consent to it receive standard care.

Oxford University scientists leading the research say initial results are expected in the next few months.

A study involving a similar drug – favipiravir – began in Guinea in December.

More than 8,000 people have died from Ebola during this outbreak, the majority in the worst-affected countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

While a handful of experimental drugs, including brincidofovir and favipiravir, have been given on an ad hoc, compassionate basis in the last year, none has yet been proven to work against the virus in scientific human trials.

A huge international effort – involving the WHO, MSF, drug companies, the Wellcome Trust, and other global health organizations – aims to fast-track treatments that have been identified as potential options.

Prof. Peter Horby, one of the chief investigators at Oxford University, said: “Conducting clinical trials of investigational drugs in the midst of a humanitarian crisis is a new experience for us all, but we are determined not to fail the people of West Africa.

“We are trying a number of different approaches simultaneously as there is only a short window of opportunity to tackle this virus during the outbreak.”Ebola drug brincidofovir

Scientists at Oxford say brincidofovir was chosen because it is effective against Ebola-infected cells in laboratories, has been deemed safe in more than 1,000 patients in trials against other viruses and can be given conveniently as a tablet.

Researchers aim to recruit more than 100 people and will compare death rates at the centre before and after the trial.

The other antiviral drug, favipiravir, being tested by the French National Institute of Health, is already used to treat influenza.

It is offered to all patients who receive care at the MSF treatment centre in Gueckedou, Guinea, and early results are expected in a few months’ time.

Scientists are testing other drugs and treatments.

Oxford University and the company Tekmira hope to establish a further study of a potential treatment which aims to interrupt the genetic code of the virus called TKM-Ebola.

Another approach is to use blood plasma from patients who have recovered from the disease. Trials of this are under way in Guinea’s capital, led by the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine. This treatment is also being given to the British nurse Pauline Cafferkey in hospital in London.

And trials involving three separate vaccines designed to prevent people from getting the disease, are taking place in Switzerland, UK, US and Mali.

While a number of different pharmaceutical attempts are being made to tackle the Ebola virus, experts say other strategies – including early and adequate hydration and nutrition – are extremely important.

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Brent crude oil price falls to lowest level since March 2009

Clyde K. Valle
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Brent crude oil price falls to lowest level since March 2009

Brent crude oil price has fallen to $51.12 per barrel, its lowest level since March 2009.

It follows yesterday’s 6% plunge in prices.

The fall appeared to have been prompted by Saudi Arabia cutting prices to Europe.

At the same time, the kingdom, OPEC’s largest oil-producing nation, raised them for Asian customers.

Some analysts said the price cuts reflected Saudi Arabia’s deepening desire to defend its market share in Europe.Brent crude oil price at new low

US oil fell further on January 6 to $48.01, having fallen below the symbolic threshold of $50 a barrel for the first time since April 2009 on January 5.

The prices of both Brent crude and US oil, known as West Texas Intermediate crude, have now fallen by more than 50% since mid-2014.

Investors are worried that a combination of global oversupply and weak oil demand could cause prices to tumble further.

However, the increase in production has come just as demand for oil in economies across the world from Europe to China – the world’s second-largest consumer of oil – has slowed.

Recent data also showed that Russia’s 2014 oil output hit a post-Soviet era high and exports from Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer, reached their highest since 1980.

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Bob McDonnell sentenced to two years in jail for public corruption

Nancy Clayson
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Bob McDonnell sentenced to two years in jail for public corruption

Bob McDonnell has been sentenced to two years in jail for public corruption.

The 60-year-old ex-Virginia governor was convicted on 11 charges in September 2014, including wire fraud and receiving property based on his official duties.

Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of 10 years while Bob McDonnell’s defense asked the judge for community service.

The six-week trial exposed the McDonnell family’s strained marriage and shaky finances.

Bob McDonnell’s wife, Maureen, was also found guilty in September of eight charges. She will be sentenced in February.

The couple accepted $165,000 in gifts and loans, including a Rolex watch, designer clothing and vacations in exchange for promoting Star Scientific, a vitamin company, and doing favors for its chief executive, Jonnie Williams.

Jonnie Williams testified under immunity as the prosecution’s star witness.

On January 6, Bob McDonnell, once a rising star of the Republican party, told the judge ahead of sentencing he was “a heartbroken and humbled man”.

“I allowed my life to get way out of balance,” he said.

However, outside of court, Bob McDonnell said he still disagreed with the verdict and his defense would be appealing his conviction.

The former governor did not react when the judge handed down the sentence.

Bob McDonnell must report to prison by February 9.

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John Boehner re-elected as House speaker as Republicans take control of Congress

Diane A. Wade
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John Boehner re-elected as House speaker as Republicans take control of Congress

John Boehner has survived a House rebellion by winning a third term as House speaker after Republicans took control of both chambers for the first time in eight years.

Twenty five Republicans voted against him.

At the top of the Republican agenda is approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which was the first bill introduced.

Republicans won a majority in the Senate during November’s mid-term election.

They already controlled the House of Representatives.

They have been angered by recent unilateral actions by President Barack Obama including an executive action on immigration policy and a major shift in US policy on Cuba.

Photo AFP/Getty Images
Photo AFP/Getty Images

Both chambers convened at midday, as required by the US constitution, after an early morning storm that left the capital city covered in snow.

“Hard work awaits,” said the new Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell.

“I’m really optimistic about what we can accomplish.”

During prepared remarks on January 6, John Boehner said he wanted Barack Obama to work with Republicans on bills that have stalled in recent years.

He also criticized unnamed fellow representatives for “shadow boxing and show business”.

The first bill to be introduced was the approval for Keystone XL, a controversial oil pipeline extension on hold for years.

It may have enough support to pass a procedural hurdle in the Senate but on Tuesday, the White House has said Barack Obama would veto the legislation if it came to his desk.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the legislation undermined a “well-established” review process and did not take into account a lawsuit still pending in the state of Nebraska over the pipeline’s route.

President Barack Obama has used his power of veto twice in his six years as president, but has said he expects to use it more now that both chambers are controlled by Republicans.

Republicans are also set to take on Barack Obama’s immigration policy changes through a funding fight, legislation to repeal or defund the health law often referred to as “ObamaCare”, and fast-track a Pacific trade deal.

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Istanbul: Female suicide bomber attacks Sultanahmet police station killing one officer

Roy Siemens
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Istanbul: Female suicide bomber attacks Sultanahmet police station killing one officer

A female suicide bomber has attacked a police station in the tourist hub of Sultanahmet in Istanbul, Turkey, injuring two officers, the city governor says.

Reports say one of the officers has died of his injuries.

Governor Vasip Sahin told Turkish TV that the woman spoke English with “a thick accent”, but her nationality and identity remained unknown.

No group has yet said it was behind the attack, the second on police in a week.Istanbul Sultanahmet police station attack

Police arrested a man who threw grenades and fired a weapon at officers near the prime minister’s office on January 1, but no-one was injured in the attack.

The bomber in the latest incident was reported to have died in the attack.

Police have sealed off an area in the historic district, where the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia museum are located.

Vasip Sahin said the woman entered the station and told police she had lost her wallet before detonating the bomb.

“Right now one police officer is in hospital in a critical condition and another is lightly injured… The female bomber lost her life.”

The banned Marxist DHKP-C group said it was behind the earlier attack in the city on January 1, which took place outside Dolmabahce Palace.

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Sunanda Pushkar death: Shashi Tharoor’s wife was killed by poisoning

Nancy Clayson
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Sunanda Pushkar death: Shashi Tharoor’s wife was killed by poisoning

Indian police are treating the death of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of former minister Shashi Tharoor, as murder, nearly a year after her body was found in a hotel room.

Sunanda Pushkar’s death was “not natural and was due to poisoning,” Delhi police chief BS Bassi said.

Initially, doctors said she might have died from an overdose of drugs.

Shashi Tharoor, an Indian lawmaker who married the former Dubai-based businesswoman in 2010, said he was stunned by the news.

“Needless to say I am anxious to see this case is investigated thoroughly and continue to assure the police of my full co-operation,” he said in a statement.

“Although we never thought of any foul play in the death of my wife, we all want that a comprehensive investigation be conducted and that the unvarnished truth should come out.”

BS Bassi said the police had received a “final report” from the doctors saying that Sunanda Pushkar had been poisoned.

“The poison could have been administered orally or it could have been injected. To proceed further in this matter, we have decided to register a case of murder,” he said.Sunanda Pushkar and her husband, Shashi Tharoor, in July 2012

Medical samples would be sent to foreign laboratories to find out the “quantity of poison” found in Sunanda Pushkar’s body.

It is, however, still not clear what poison is believed to have been given to Sunanda Pushkar, and how she could have taken it.

There is also no clarity over the motive of the alleged murder.

Asked why it had taken the police nearly a year to treat the death as murder, BS Bassi said the doctors examining the evidence had sought “additional information” on more than one occasion, and police had provided that.

Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a five-star hotel in Delhi on January 17, 2014.

Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar had became embroiled in controversy over a series of Twitter messages before the woman’s death that appeared to reveal he was having an affair with a Pakistani journalist.

Sunanda Pushkar and Shashi Tharoor later insisted they were happily married and blamed “unauthorized tweets” for causing confusion.

Shashi Tharoor has repeatedly called for a swift investigation into the case.

In his statement on January 6, Shashi Tharoor added: “I join all members of Sunanda’s family in asking for full information about the basis on which the police have come to this conclusion.

“We have not been provided with copies of the post-mortem report and other reports of the inquiry… We repeat our request for a copy of these reports to be provided to us immediately.”

A former UN diplomat, Shashi Tharoor was forced to resign from his first ministerial position in 2010 amid controversy over his involvement in bidding for a cricket team.

Sunanda Pushkar had allegedly received a free stake in the Indian Premier League franchise Shashi Tharoor was bidding for.

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Ebola vaccine tested on healthy volunteers at Oxford University

Kathryn R. Bown
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Ebola vaccine tested on healthy volunteers at Oxford University

A new Ebola vaccine is being tested on healthy volunteers at Oxford University.

In September 2014, a separate trial of another Ebola vaccine got under way in Oxford.

This latest trial involves 72 volunteers aged 18-50.

Initial tests in monkeys showed the vaccine, developed by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson, gave complete protection against Ebola.

The volunteers in Oxford are the first humans to receive the vaccine.

Dr. Matthew Snape, from the Oxford Vaccine Group, part of the University of Oxford Department of Paediatrics, said: “We aim to immunize all participants within a month.

“The main aim is to understand the safety profile of the vaccines.”

The trial involves volunteers receiving an additional booster dose one or two months after the initial injection.

Similar small trials will also get under way in the US and three African countries unaffected by Ebola.

The first dose is designed to prime the immune system with the second booster dose to enhance the immune response.Ebola vaccine teste on humans

The two doses contain different components, but both include genes for a protein from the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus.

The trial organizers stress the vaccine cannot cause anyone to be infected with Ebola.

The immune response the vaccine generates – both antibodies and T cells – will be measured over the course of a year.

Johnson and Johnson said it hoped to begin a larger Phase II trial in Africa and Europe within three months and then to have the vaccine available for use in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone by the middle of 2015.

The pharmaceutical company says it could have 2 million doses of the vaccine available in 2015.

The health crisis triggered by the Ebola outbreak has led to a huge acceleration in the pace of vaccine research.

In September a separate team at the Jenner Institute in Oxford began a trial of an Ebola vaccine.

GSK and the National Institutes of Health in the US developed the vaccine.

Results of that trial are due shortly and there are plans for the vaccine to be offered to health workers in Ebola affected countries of West Africa later this month.

The study led by the Jenner Institute has now been modified to include a booster dose.

Merck has recently bought the rights to a third Ebola vaccine being developed by the biotech company NewLink Genetics.

That vaccine is being tested in Switzerland.

The trial, in Geneva, was halted in December 2014 after some volunteers complained of joint pain.

It resumed this week, with participants being given a lower dose.

Ebola vaccines are also being developed in Russia.

Dr. Matthew Snape said: “The fact that there are at least three Ebola vaccines entering these early safety trials is good news.

“We are not playing first past the post here. Having multiple vaccines progressing through clinical trials increases the likelihood of vaccine manufacturers having the capacity to meet production demands should mass immunization be required.

“The more vaccines and more manufacturers there are working on this, the better.”

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North Korea makes progress in creating deliverable nuclear weapons

Roy Siemens
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North Korea makes progress in creating deliverable nuclear weapons

North Korea has made progress in creating deliverable nuclear weapons, South Korea’s defense ministry has speculated.

In a white paper, the ministry said enough time had passed since North Korea’s first nuclear test for it to have acquired the technology.

A ministry official, however, told the Yonhap News agency that there was no intelligence to support the assessment.

Meanwhile North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he was open to talks with South Korea.

“North Korea’s capabilities of miniaturizing nuclear weapons appear to have reached a significant level,” the paper said.

Miniaturizing a nuclear device would allow it to be fitted on the tip of a long-range missile which could, in theory, reach South Korea or even the US.

An unnamed defense ministry official told Yonhap: “We don’t have any intelligence that North Korea completed the miniaturization.”North Korea nuclear weapons

The official said acquiring such technology took between two and seven years, and it had been eight years since North Korea conducted its first nuclear test.

Pyongyang has conducted three nuclear tests with the most recent in February 2013.

Expert opinion is split on how much progress North Korea’s ballistic missile development program has made.

The white paper also said that North Korea was “presumed to have [missiles] capabilities that could threaten the US mainland, having fired off long-range missiles five times”.

However, the official said no signs had been seen yet that Pyongyang had put long range missiles into service.

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Dustin Diamond ordered to go on trial over Christmas Day stabbing

Lisa.Felice
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Dustin Diamond ordered to go on trial over Christmas Day stabbing

Saved by the Bell actor Dustin Diamond has been ordered to go on trial over the stabbing of a man at a bar on Christmas Day.

Dustin Diamond, 37, is charged with felony reckless endangerment and two misdemeanors.

His lawyer, Thomas Alberti, said there were no witnesses who said they saw Dustin Diamond stab the man but a judge ruled there was enough evidence for a trial.

The stabbing is said to have happened in a bar in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

The man was not seriously hurt during the fight at The Grand Avenue Saloon.

Dustin Diamond’s fiancée Amanda Schutz, who appeared in court with him on January 5, told police she shoved a woman who was making rude remarks to them.

Dustin Diamond, who played Screech in Saved by the Bell show, claimed the women then became physically aggressive and that two men held his 27-year-old fiancée by her hair.Dustin Diamond and Amanda Schutz in court

Port Washington police officer Ryan Hurda, who testified during the hearing, said that a man pushed Dustin Diamond as he moved towards the fight.

The man’s brother “intervened when he heard the snap of a knife”, said Ryan Hurda.

The brother did not see Dustin Diamond stab anyone, Ryan Hurda added, and there was nothing in the bar’s video surveillance that showed the actor stabbing the man.

“No, it’s not distinct, but you see he’s holding some type of object in his right hand,” Ryan Hurda said.

Thomas Alberti asked for his client to be allowed to leave Wisconsin, Dustin Diamond’s home state, for a short time.

Dustin Diamond was granted permission to perform at comedy shows which he had already scheduled in other states. He remains free on $10,000 bond.

Saved by the Bell aired during the 1990s and followed the lives of a group of high school students.

Since the show ended, Dustin Diamond has been sued a number of times for failure to pay taxes and in foreclosure proceedings following missed mortgage payments.

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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch aborted

James J. Williams
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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch aborted

SpaceX has postponed an experiment to bring part of its Falcon 9 rocket down to a soft landing on a floating sea platform.

The space company has now rescheduled the Cape Canaveral demonstration for January 9.

Once the first stage of the rocket launches, and has finished its work, it will head back to Earth to try to touch down on a sea barge in the Atlantic.

If this kind of capability can be proven, it promises dramatically lower launch costs in the future.

All segments of a rocket are usually discarded after use and are destroyed as they fall back down.

SpaceX, however, has been practicing the controlled return of the first stage of its Falcon 9 vehicle.

The problem responsible for today’s scrub decision related to a technical issue detected in the steering mechanism of the rocket’s upper stage.

The next chance to send up the vehicle will be on January 9 at 05:09AM local Florida time.SpaceX Falcon 9 launch aborted

SpaceX itself has been playing down expectations, rating the chances of success at no more than 50-50.

“I’m pretty sure this will be very exciting, but, as I said, it’s an experiment,” cautioned Hans Koenigsmann, vice president for mission assurance at SpaceX.

“There’s a certain likelihood that this will not work out all right, that something will go wrong. It’s the first time we have tried this – nobody has ever tried it as far as we know.”

The primary purpose of the flight is to send the Dragon cargo ship on a path to rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS).

It will be the first American re-supply mission to the orbiting platform since October’s spectacular explosion of a freighter system operated by competitor Orbital Sciences Corporation.

However, it is the outcome of the SpaceX experiment that is likely to make the headlines.

SpaceX believes it can return, refurbish and re-use key elements of its rockets.

To this end, it has been testing first-stage boosters that relight their engines to try to slow their fall through the atmosphere, attaching fins to help guide them downwards, and legs to make a stable touchdown.

So far, there have only been mock landings, in which the stage is brought to a hovering position at the surface of the ocean, where, without a solid platform to set down, every booster has subsequently been lost in the water.

The experiment at the end of this week will be different in that SpaceX has sent a floating barge to the targeted return site some 200 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida.

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Joey Bada$$ charged with assault after punching security guard in Australia

Lisa.Felice
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Joey Bada$$ charged with assault after punching security guard in Australia

An Australian court has charged Brooklyn rapper Joey Badass with assault after allegedly punching a security guard before a show near Byron Bay on January 2.

According to a police statement, Joey Badass, 19, was walking towards the stage at The Falls Music and Arts Festival when he was asked to prove his identity.

Joey Badass, real name Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott, allegedly punched the 20-year-old guard, breaking his nose, before going on stage to perform his set.

The rapper was later charged with assault causing bodily harm and spent the night in police custody, the statement added.Joey Badass charged with assault in Australia

Joey Bada$$ could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison if convicted.

He appeared in Lismore Local Court on January 3 and was released on unconditional bail, court official Melissa Everson said.

She added that Joey Bada$$ would not be required to appear when the charge is next listed in Byron Bay Local Court on March 19. He is free to fly back to the US and will be represented in court by a lawyer.

Melissa Everson would not say whether Joey Badass had entered a plea at this stage.

Joey Bada$$, who is the co-founder of the hip-hop collective Pro Era, is set to play four shows in Australia and New Zealand over the next week.

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Stephen Fry and Elliot Spencer to marry in Norfolk

Lisa.Felice
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Stephen Fry and Elliot Spencer to marry in Norfolk

The Hobbit’s Stephen Fry has confirmed he is to marry his partner, Elliott Spencer.

The 57-year-old comedian and writer Stephen Fry has given formal notice to wed Elliott Spencer, 27, at a register office in Norfolk, the UK, near where he grew up.

Writing on Twitter after The Sun newspaper revealed the marriage plans, Stephen Fry said: “Oh. It looks as though a certain cat is out of a certain bag.

“I’m very very happy of course but had hoped for a private wedding. Fat chance!”Stephen Fry to marry Elliott Spencer

Stephen Fry and Elliott Spencer are thought to have started their relationship last year.

Director of Norwich City Football Club Stephen Fry has been a familiar face on television since the 1980s and is most recently known for presenting the comedy quiz show QI, as well as for acting roles in The Hobbit and the latest series of 24.

Stephen Fry’s personal assistant said: “Stephen Fry is very happy and proud to say that he has set the wheels in motion for a wedding sometime in the future but no date has been set due to a busy work schedule.”

Serbia: 18,000 cakes stolen from Kragujevac landfill site and resold on black market

Nancy Clayson
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Serbia: 18,000 cakes stolen from Kragujevac landfill site and resold on black market

18,000 cakes were stolen from a landfill site in the town of Kragujevac in central Serbia ahead of the New Year’s holiday and resold on the black market, authorities say.

The cakes were taken to be destroyed at the dump after the refrigerator storing them broke down.

They were instead stolen on December 24, local media reported. City Mayor Radomir Nikolic accused “an organized group” of stealing the cakes.Serbian cakes stolen from landfill site and resold

There have been no reports of illness, but investigations are underway.

Several employees at the landfill site are reported to have been suspended.

The cakes emerged “in suspicious places and at suspicious prices,” said the mayor, quoted by the B92 website.

A Serbian consumer group has posted a picture of the cakes to warn consumers against buying them.

Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan to run for FIFA presidency

Clyde K. Valle
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Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan to run for FIFA presidency

Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan will challenge incumbent Sepp Blatter for FIFA presidency.

The 39-year-old FIFA vice-president will stand as a candidate at the presidential election on May 29, where Sepp Blatter, 78, will seek a fifth term of office.

Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein said: “It is time to shift the focus away from administrative controversy and back to sport.

“The headlines should be about football, not about FIFA.” Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein to run for FIFA presidency

Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein became president of Jordanian football in 1999 before being elected as the Asian Football Confederation’s FIFA vice-president in 2011. He has successfully championed the lifting of FIFA’s ban on the hijab in women’s football and was also one of a number of officials who called for the publication of Michael Garcia’s report into allegations of corruption surrounding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.

Prince Ali said he had been encouraged to stand by colleagues.

UEFA president Michel Platini is said to be “pleased” that Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein has decided to enter the race and will attempt to get the Jordanian as many votes as possible in Europe.

CES 2015: Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai condemns vicious cyber attack

Nancy Clayson
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CES 2015: Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai condemns vicious cyber attack

In his speech at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai has condemned the “vicious” cyber attack that led to it suspending the release of its film The Interview.

The Guardians of Peace hacker group attacked Sony in a bid to stop the release of the movie.

Kazuo Hirai said he was proud of those who stood up against the “extortionist” tactics of the hackers.

“Both Sony, former employees and current employees were the victim of one of the most vicious and malicious cyber attacks in recent history,” said Kazuo Hirai in off-the-cuff remarks made just before Sony’s press conference at CES began.

Speaking to the press, Kazuo Hirai said it would be “remiss” of him if he did not talk about the events of the last few weeks.

Sony has suffered a series of revelations orchestrated by the Guardians of Peace which gained access to the company’s network and stole huge amounts of internal information.

Photo AFP
Photo AFP

This led to movies being pirated, personal information being shared and millions of private emails published.

The attacks were carried out to convince Sony to halt the release of The Interview – a comedy about journalists recruited to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The movie’s subject matter led US authorities to blame North Korea for the cyber assault, but many security experts have expressed doubt about this theory.

Sony did withdraw The Interview before its planned release, but it is now available to view online and is on show at some cinemas. It made about $15 million through downloads alone over its first three days of distribution.

“I have to say that I’m very proud of all the employees, and certainly the partners who stood up against the extortionist efforts of criminals, and worked tirelessly, sometimes for days on end to bring you The Interview,” said Kazuo Hirai.

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US oil price drops below $50 a barrel

Clyde K. Valle
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US oil price drops below $50 a barrel

The US oil price has dropped below $50 a barrel for the first time since April 2009.

The price of Brent crude also fell on January 5, dipping more than 6% to trade at below $53 a barrel.

The price of both Brent crude and US oil, known as West Texas Intermediate crude, have now lost more than half of their value since mid-2014.

Investors are worried that combination of a global supply glut and weak demand could cause prices to tumble further.US oil price

US oil production has soared recently, as fracking – or the process of extracting oil from shale rock by injecting fluids into the ground – has revolutionized oil production in the country, transforming states such as North Dakota and Pennsylvania in the process.

However, the increase in production has come just as economies across the world – from Europe to China – have slowed their once voracious demand for oil.

This, combined with OPEC’s decision to continue extracting oil at its current pace, has left many investors worried.

That has in turn led shares of many of the world’s leading energy firms, from BP to Exxon Mobil, to decline sharply over the past few months.

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Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial: Jury selection begins in Boston Marathon bombings case

Diane A. Wade
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Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial: Jury selection begins in Boston Marathon bombings case

Jury selection has begun in the Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is accused of killing three people and injuring more than 260 in April 2013.

He faces the possibility of the death penalty if he is convicted of detonating a pair of homemade bombs.

The attack near the marathon’s finish line was the largest on American soil since 9/11.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to all 30 charges against him.

His trial is expected to last at least three months.

Jury selection alone is expected to take several weeks as Judge George O’Toole selects 12 jurors and six alternates from about 1,200 prospective jurors who have been summoned to the court in Boston.Boston Marathon bombings 2013

The process could be made more complicated if potential jurors express objections to the death penalty.

Testimony is unlikely to begin until February, the Boston Globe reported, and a verdict may not be announced until late spring or early summer.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers say they have not had sufficient time to prepare for the trial.

They also argue that appointing impartial jurors in the same city where the bombs were detonated is impossible.

Correspondents say the prosecution will be one of the most important for the government since Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death in 1997 for detonating a truck bomb in Oklahoma City two years earlier.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan lived in the Massachusetts town of Cambridge, home to Harvard University, after emigrating to the US in 2002 from the Caucasus region of southern Russia.

The prosecution will argue that the brothers set off the bombs as an act of retaliation against the US for its military action in Muslim countries.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed during a shootout with police days after the bombing.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was wounded and eventually found by police hiding inside a boat in a residential neighborhood.

He will be defended by a team of five lawyers, including Judy Clarke, an expert in capital punishment cases.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is due in court on January 5, has made two other brief court appearances since his arrest.

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China box office made $4.8 billion in 2014

Sonia Pantiss
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China box office made $4.8 billion in 2014

The Chinese box office made a total of 29.9 billion yuan ($4.8 billion) in 2014, a 36% increase vs. 2013.

For the second year in a row, domestic productions beat Hollywood offerings, taking a 55% share of the market.

That was despite the fact import quotas were expanded in 2012 to allow more Hollywood imports, Variety reported.

China is the world’s second largest box office territory after the US, with just under 50% of North America’s take, which slipped 5% to $10.3 billion.

Transformers: Age of Extinction was the 2014’s top film in China.China box office 2014

Hollywood has woken up to the Chinese market in recent years, with some movies catering specifically to the Chinese audience. Iron Man 3 included a special scene with Chinese A-list actors that was only seen in China.

Universal Studios is building a theme park in Beijing and a Disneyland – four times larger than the one in Hong Kong – is planned for Shanghai.

The biggest Chinese hits of 2014 were Breakup Buddies, The Breakup Guru, The Continent, Dad, Where Are We Going? and The Monkey King.

Other big hitters included The Taking of Tiger Mountain, a 3D war adventure film, which opened in late December.

Just over 1,015 cinema complexes were opened in China in 2014, delivering 5,397 new screens, an average of 15 new screens per day.

The total number of cinema screens in China now stands at 23,600.

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